Grief: Death and Dying

Death and Dying Hebrews 9:27 “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

The second we take our first breath into this world we are already beginning the process of dying. You and I will die at some point. During our lifetime we will see loved ones and friends that die and are laid in the grave. Death is a part of lifeâ¦but it can be one the most painful feeling we every will have. The loss of those we love is hard on us. We see young people die and wonder why that happened. I know I did when my son was killed. Then there are those that have had a long and unrelenting disease, and some cut down in their prime of life without warning. We know we will die and those we love will die, yet when it happens it brings us to our knees. Even when we are expecting it that does not take the pain away. It still hurts because while we are on this earth we won’t have the opportunity to tell them how we feel, ask for forgiveness, or just be part of their life even just a little longer. God only knows when we are to follow them into the eternal world. “I know not the day of my death” (Gen. 27:2). “My times are in thy hand” (Ps. 31:15). It may be today, tomorrow, next week, next year or 50 years from now but if Jesus tarries we know that at some point our time on this earth will come to an end, and that will happen to all those we care about at some point as well. This, however, never means we are not to love others. Love is a good thing and God wants us to love others even if at some point we have to go through the loss of them. The Bible says that the day of our death is better than the day we are born. To most people they don’t understand this. Our death, if we are God’s children, is our journey into eternity with Godâ¦that is something to get excited about. Since we know that one day our time on earth will be up wouldn’t it seem better to have a short list (no list of sins) with God and repent each and every time we sin? We don’t know when God will call us home but we can be certain that if we are not right with God we will not be a happy camper the instant we die. Don’t let the work of repentance wait until a future dayâ¦now is the time to repent of all of your sins and get right with God. We are not assured of seeing tomorrow; and as repentance is “the gift of God,” if we neglect to ask for it today, and refuse to hear His warning voice, He may say to us, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 1:24-29). After death comes the judgment. If you are not a child of God then the thought of judgment should be a very scary thing. For we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to give account of the things done in the body, whether they be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). The thing isâ¦Jesus paid the price of our redemption and He is on the side of those that are His. He stands in the gap in the judgment room in heaven. He declares His childrenâ¦as not guilty, but those that are not His will not hear Him welcoming them to heaven. So who will be at the judgment seat? Everyone whether young and old, rich and poor, without distinction or exception. We will give an account of all our secret thoughts, known only to ourselves; of all our secret actions, which no eye saw but the all-seeing eye of the omniscient Judge. He keeps a book of remembrance in which every evil thought, word and work is registered; every one of which will be then brought forth to our eternal confusion, unless they are washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read (in Rev. 6:16) that some, in that day, will call to the rocks and the mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” God grant it may not be your case, or mine. But in order to avoid this dreadful state, we must “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6,7).

This is the day of grace. But it will be too late to seek for mercy when the day of judgment comes. If you die without Christ, it had been good for you if you had never been born (Mark 14:21); for it would be better to have had no existence at all, than have a miserable existence in hell forever. This must be the portion of every unpardoned, unconverted sinner. God hath said it, who cannot lie. I want to encourage you to love others even if you know at some point they may be called home. It is better to love than not know love. The Lord doesn’t wish anyone lost but He also gave you free choice to choose Him and heaven, or the devil and hell. The one thing you can’t say is you did not know. You do know. Today is the day to get right with God. Right now!!! The world, as we know it, is dwindling down to the end and Jesus will return and although we don’t know the day or hour we do see the signs He told us about. Right now is the time to get right with God for He cares for you. Jesus while on this earth was very humble and loving, but when He returns He will return as judge. Please don’t be left behind. Get right with God right now. Blessings to you